Category: 2016 Ranking

My annual rankings of literary magazines have become a go-to resource for many writers submitting their prose and poetry to journals. I am happy to provide the service, which I began for my own benefit almost ten years ago now.

Some people express their appreciation for the lists by donating a little something to support this website, which you can do by visiting this page and scrolling down to the bottom: Donate to Support the Rankings. Click on the “Donate” button and choose your contribution amount via PayPal.

For the rest of March, I’ve got a special deal to offer. Donate an amount of $20 or more, and I will send you a copy of one of my books at no additional cost to you! You can go here to see what’s available: Clifford Garstang’s Books. Make the donation, specify which book you want, and I’ll get it out in the mail to you right away. What a deal!

I was wondering why my Home Page was getting so many hits, but now I know. Because of a WordPress glitch, I had to change how post were named on the site, and as a result instead of going to the rankings, readers went to the home page instead. I have fixed the problem, but now have to rebuild some links.

To find the rankings, on the menu click on look for the drop-down menu under blog, then literary magazine rankings, then 2016 Rankings, then pick your genre.

I first began doing these rankings several years ago as an aid for my own submission process. I wanted to submit my work within tiers of magazines, so that I wouldn’t find myself having to choose between an excellent magazine and a lesser one. When I shared the list on my blog, it was immediately very popular. I updated it each year and later expanded it to cover Nonfiction and Poetry, as well.

The lists are as objective as I can make them. They are based solely on the number of Pushcart Prizes and Special Mentions a magazine has received over a rolling 10-year period in each genre. (In updating the list this year I dropped 2006 and added 2016 prizes and special mentions.) I don’t take into consideration readership, contributor payment, or any other factor. Granted, the Pushcart Prize itself is not objective, but it seems to me to be the most democratic of the annual anthologies because its nomination process is somewhat transparent. Also, the Prizes have an apparent bias against online magazines, although that continues to erode, as you’ll see from this year’s list. There are some fine online and hybrid magazines included here.

No method of ranking is perfect, but I hope you will find these lists useful. I have attempted to check all the links, but if you find one that is broken or have information about a closed magazine (which I indicate with a copyright symbol for “closed”), please leave a comment here or write to me at info@cliffordgarstang.com.

If you do find the lists useful, consider making a donation using the link below, or maybe buying one of my books, which you’ll find here: Clifford Garstang on Amazon.com.

About

Clifford Garstang is a fiction writer and former international lawyer. His novel in stories, WHAT THE ZHANG BOYS KNOW, won the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction. He is also the author of a story collection, IN AN UNCHARTED COUNTRY, and the editor of two anthologies, EVERYWHERE STORIES: SHORT FICTION FROM A SMALL PLANET, Volumes I and II.